IT'S not unusual for a British prime minister to express unswerving support for the state of Israel, but this should not come at the expense of overlooking serious human right issues.

David Cameron's effusive speech to the Knesset referred to the foundation of Israel in "international law", yet the less rosy truth is that Israeli soldiers regularly act unlawfully in shooting unarmed protesters in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.

Last year alone, 22 Palestinian civilians, mostly teenagers, or people in their early-20s, were killed by Israel's forces in the West Bank, with several of the victims shot in the back. Mr Cameron's rock-solid commitment to Israel shouldn't mean ignoring the concrete reality of human rights abuses being committed by Israel's forces.